Structural member



Nov. 10, 1942. w. J. M DONALD STRUCTURAL MEMBER Filed Aug. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR WILL/AM J M? DONALD Z/ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1942.

w. J. MCDONALD STRUCTURAL MEMBER Filed Aug. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l /-2o I I :J K) 29 i 37 If j 33 1? I v 23 5s WILL/AM J MSDONALD Nov. 10, 1942. w, J. MCDONALD 2,301,306

I STRUCTURAL MEMBER Filed Aug. 24, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 6

r": I l I] /i5 E 23 l g ll 50-1 l 2.3 I 5 J I QL IS INVENTOR WILL m M J. M DONALD ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 10, 1942 UNITED STAT Es"; OFF

srnucrunan William J. McDonald, City, Mo., of one hali' to S. Earl Rqot; Kansas City,"Mo.

Application August 24, 1938, serial No. 226,476

5 Claims. (01. 1895351 My invention has for one of its purposes the provision of a concrete form, which can be quickly erected andeasily and quickly torn down after the concrete has become set, and which requires no nailing of the wall forming members,

in the form of boards or other lumber, to the studs or other frame members used in making the form'. Also it is a purpose of my invention to provide framing and bracing means for a concrete form, which comprises studs and walers and obliquely extending bracing members, all of top and bottom edges of each of said wall forming members; This is accomplishedby providing openings in the walls of the frame members that v are so arranged that securing elements engaging which are detachably secured to each other inthis being accomplished by providing a plurality of duplicate sections, which are all interchangeable with each other, whether used as walers, studs,- or braces, and which are adapted to be detachably secured together in any desired overlapping adjustment, so as to obtain any desired length of stud, waler; or bracing member, by the proper relative adjustment of adjacent structural members and detachable securement of the same to each other.

It is another purpose ofmyinvention to provide in a concrete form, a combined form and scaffold, or runway, in which the studs are used I as vertical frame mernbers for the scaffold, or runway, and in which vertically extending frame members, or posts, are provided, that are spaced from the studs of the form and are ofv similar structure to the studs of the form, said frame members being connected in a manner so that the connecting means can be utilized for supporting a platform, or runway, and for spacing the frame members that are not part of the form, from the frame members that also constitute studs of the form.

More specifically my invention comprises a plurality of duplicate frame units that are so constructed that the same may be secured together in interlocking relation tohold the same in longitudinalalignment with each other, and

the Wall forming members, or boards forming the wall of the form, can be engaged with said frame members in a manner that suitablefingers on said securing means will engage the boards, or wall forming members, adjacent the same at the adjoining upper and lower edge portions thereof,

said securing elements extending between verti-' cally adjacent wall forming members, or boards.

It is a further purpose of iny-in'vention to pro-- vide in a device of the above mentioned character, securing means having flattened shank portions that are adapted to extend between two' adjacent boards; or other wooden members, used for forming the wall of the formin a'manne'r that these will not be spaced any further apart than is necessary to allow for swelling of ,the

wood when it becomes wet after the/concrete has been poured, said, securing elements further having flattened oppositely extending prongs, or

fingers, thereon, one of which engages a board,

or other wooden wall forming member, above the securing member, and the otherof which eni gages a board, or other wooden .wall forming forming members, to the frame members at the member, below said securing element, said securi'n'g element further comprising a shank portion that is partly flattened and partly circular in cross section, and which is provided with means for clamping the same in position, said means, preferably, comprising screw-threads on said round shank portion and a wingnut engaging said thread.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide said frame forming elementswith means whereby the same, can be secured to a suitable bottom support, such as a plate, and so that the walers, or transverse horizontally extending frame members, can be detachably connected with the vertical frame members, or studs, and so that the inclined bracing members can be detachably secured to the studs. Preferably, the duplicated elements of my frameare made channel-shaped in cross section and are provided with a series of spaced slots in the web portion of the channel and the flanges thereof, the slots in each flange and the web portions being in alignment with each other longitudinally of said flanges and web portions. The means for interlocking the sections to hold the same in alignment, preferably, comprises projections, or lugs, that are adapted to be received in certain of said slots.

However, other structural metallic shapes can be,

used than channel members, if found desirable, as long as the features of adjustability and interchangeability of my invention,-along with the means for aligning the frame elements with each other are provided. Also other arrangements and forms of openings, than slots that are ariranged in alignment, can be utilized for receiving the elements for securing the frame and the wall forming boards together, so that these will always be insertable at proper places for engagement with the upper edge of one board, or wall Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a concrete form and scaffolding used in conjunction therewith, employin my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary face view of a ,con-

crete form employing my invention. I

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 6-4 of Fig- 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of one 80 of the frame units embodying my invention.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing the joint between two frame units.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in section, showing the joint between a stud and waler.

Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 on an enlarged scale, and a Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section through the upper part of the scaffold.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the con crete form is shown in Fig. 1 as being made up of a plurality of boards, or wall forming members, it, which are arranged as is customary to providea trough-like space in the same, into which the concrete, indicated at H, is poured. Each wall is supported by means of framing comprising studs, walers and obliquely extending braces, and the two parts of the form, that is, the two opposite wall portions made up of boards, or wall forming members, ID are secured together, so as to prevent separation thereof, by

suitable tie members, which may be of any de-' sired character, one formthereof that is commonly used being shown at l2 in Fig. 1, said tie members being clamped in tight position, by means of wedge members i3, in;a well known manner. Only a few of the tie members are shown in the drawings to show the disposition thereof, it being, of course, understood that a large number of these are utilized, but inasmuch] as these are not part of my invention, I have only shown sufllcient thereof to show that these are used in a conventional manner.

The studs, walers and obliquely extending braces are all made up of identical units, the units beingshown as being in the form of channel members in the drawings, having flanges I connected by means of a web portion l5, sa'id flanges extending perpendicularly to the web portion and-said flanges extending substantially parallel to each other. Preferably, the web portion I5 is extended and bent at right angles to itself, to form end walls l6 that are welded to the flanges I4 at l1. As will be evident P 31 reference to Fig. 1, the units described'have an end wall ii at each end thereof, so that a long trough-like member is formed, having side flanges, end walls and a body, or connecting wall, portion that formsthe bottom of the trough-like member.

A row of aligned slots. I8 is provided in the web portion ii of each of the frame units, saidthe slots, the purpose of this being to enable the elongated rectangular lugs 26, which are provided at each end of the frame unit in align- I ment with the slots l8, to be engaged with any of said slots in such a position that any desired length of frame member can be obtained by connecting'the members together in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 6. In-Fig. 6 the lug 2|! near the upper end of one of the frame units 2| is engaged in a slot l8 near the lower end of another of the frame units 22, ,and a lug-20 near the lower end of the frame unit 22 is engaged in a slot it near the upper end of the frame unit 2|. The lugs 20 are of such width and length that these fit within the slots l6,

soas to readily pass into said slots, but engage with the walls of the slots It, so as to hold the members 2| and 22 in longitudinal alignment with the web portions l5 thereof in face'to face engagement, said web portions being .held in such face to face engagement by means of bolts 23, provided withnuts 24, which bolts are passed through aligning slots N3 of the sections or units 2| and 22, and are adapted to clamp said units in back to back relation, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, and also shown in Fig. 1, for the studs, walers and inclined bracing members.

In building the forms, utilizing my frame units,

I bottom supports, or plates, 25, made of wood,

are utilized. It will be noted that the end walls l6 have openings 26 therein, said openings being utilized for securing the lower ends of the studs, which are indicated generally by the numeral 21 in Fig. 1, to the plates 25, by passing suitable fastening elements, such as nails, through the openings 26 and into the plate members 25. Fig. 6 shows a joint, similar to that shown in each of the studs 21 in Fig. 1, although in Fig. 1 the units 2| and 22' are arranged so as to overlap to a greater extent than the units shown in Fig. 6. ,It is obvious that these units can be overlapped any desired amount to get any desired length of stud or other framemember. Thus, if the studs are to be longer than shown in Fig. 1, the units could be secured together in their most extended relationship, which is that shown in Fig. 6, or the same could be further overlapped if the studs were to be shorter than shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore the same kind of joint can be repeated as many times as desired, to connect as many units as may be necessary together,

to' get any length of stud that may be necessary I for the form.

walers are provided with similar joints, and can be overlapped any amount desired to get the desired length of waler. The walers are indicated in Fig. 1 generally by the numeral 28. Due to space restrictions, only a limited number of walers and studs are shown in Fig. 1, but it will be ovbious that as many as desired can be used and that any desired length of these can be obtained by properly adjusting the units, of which aeonsoo these are made up, relative to each other, by

adjustment of the lugs" in the slots II to get the length desired. In Fig.1 the walers are shown as being overlapped in a manner so as to obtain the greatest extent of the frame members possible. A unit 2| is shown as being connected with adjoining units 22 in the same mannor as illustrated in Fig. 6, and it will be noted that these units are always arranged back to back with the web portions I5 thereof extending horizontally when these are used as walers, so th'at'these waler units can be connected with each other and with the studs, in a manner to be described below.

In Figs. 7 and 8 a joint between a waler," an a stud 21 is shown. The flanges l4 of the units are provided with slots 29, which are in alignment with each other. That is, the slots 29 of each flange l4 are in longitudinal alignment with each other and are spaced from each other by means of the connecting portions 39, which are part of the flanges l 4. Upon reference'to Figs. 1, 7 and 8 it will be noted that the flange l4 of each waler-29 engages a flange 14 of a plurality of studs 21, that is, the innermost flangesof :each

waler engage the outermost flanges of the studs.-

and 8. Fastening elements 3|, in the form of bolts, are passed through the intersecting slots 29 in the adjacent flanges l4 on a stud 21 and a waler 28, the stud and waler being clamped tightly together, by means of the nut 32 coopcrating with the bolt 3|.

Itwill be noted that notonly-are the slots in 31 that engages the outer side of one of the flanges l4 of thestud. In assembling the wall made up of the elements Ill, an element III is inserted in place and the fastening elements are then passed through the slots 29 with one of the prongs or fingers of the fastening element in engagement with the inner face of the wall forming element linear the upper edge thereof, with the ment, or board, ill is in serted in place on top of the'flat portions 34 of the fastening elements '35 one of the walers intersect, as shown in Figs. 7

with the upwardly directed prong, or finger, 35 engaging the inner face of said wall formig 'element I9 and one flange l4 of the stud engaging the other face of said board, or wall forming element, l0.

It is obvious that the boards,

prongs 35. After .this has been done the wing nuts 3'l can'lbe tightened up further to embed the prongs, or fingers, 35 and 35 in the. boards, or wall forming elements, l0. As a result, after such tightening has taken place there will be very little projection of the fingers 35 and 36 from the inner face of the form, providing a very smooth wall whenthe concrete is poured. 'The prongs 35 and 36 are alike and the fastening element can, of course, be turned with either prong upward, the two distinguishing numbers having been used for'the.v prongs, or fingers, on the fastening elements to make the description of the use thereof in conjunction with the wall formeach flange M in longitudinal alignment "with each other, but that the slots 29 of the parallel flanges H of a frame unit are in transverse alignment with each other. Alsoitheslots- 29 have a certain definite relationship to the connecting portions 30, so that wall forming ,units,

or boards, 10, customarily used for making concrete forms, will always be so located that both La top and a bottom edge of one of the wall forming units will be in alignment'with a pair of opposite slots 29 when the studs are in position in the form, that is, theslo'ts 29 are so arranged that an unslotted portion 39 of a stud will not ever align with a top or bottom edgeof a wall forming member ID in the form, so that the fastening elements that are to be described below can always be put in place to secure the wall forming members to the studs.

fingers 35 and 36, which extend in opposite di-,

ing elements It! clearer. As the wall forming elements llbare standard pieces of lumber, it will be obvious that the slots 29 can be so arranged that aslot 29 will always be intersecting the spaces between the two wall forming elements ID. The slight cracks, or spaces, left after the insertion of the fiat parts 34 of the members 33 are rections. The fastening element extends through just suflicient to, allow for the swelling of the wooden wall forming elements Ill when these become wet upon pouring the concrete.

It is usually necessary to provide obliquely extending braces for the forms, and one of these is designated generally by the numeral 38 in Fig. 1, the length of the same requiring the use of three of the channeled units, forming the subject matter of my invention, the intermediate one being secured to'the end ones of theseunits with the web portions l5 of said intermediate unit in face to face engagement with the web portions of the end units. At the lower end a stake 39 is driven into the ground to hold the brace in position. Each of the frame elements previously described, is provided with a pair of aligned openings 40 in each end thereof, adjacent the end flange l6, in

the flanges I 4, in the space 4| between the ends of the slots IS in one of the studs 21. If a bracing member made of a single frame unit is used, it is secured in the same manner when used in or wall formingi elements, canthus be easily put in proper position, by merely sliding the same back of the conjunction with the studs, as it is necessary to so fasten said braces in order that these willnot overlap the wall and interfere with the placing of the boards, or wall forming members, In in position. If the bracing members are used for bracing one of the units used as a post, as indicated at 43in Fig. 1, the frame element can be utilized in the manner shown in Fig. 1, that is, with the web portion l5 extending vertically, as this will give greater strength, the bolt extending through a slot [8 in the web portion l5 of the diagonally extending bracing member 44 and through a slot 18 in the web portion l5 of the vertically extending post 43.

It is usually necessary to provide a scaffolding and a runway in connection with concrete forms,

' in order to permit the workers to have access to the form, and for hauling material, such as the concrete, that is to be poured into the form, into such position that it can be dumped into the form.' My frame units can be used in conjunction with the studs of the form to provide such a scaifolding and-runway. In order to do this the frame elements are set up vertically, as shown in Fig. 1, at a distance spaced from the studs to provide posts, indicated generally by the numeral 45 in Fig. 1. Said posts may be secured in'position by being mounted on plate members 45 in the same manner as previously described in con- The upper rod-like members 48 are utilized to I support a floor, which may be made up of suitable planks 50, which serve as a scaffolding. If desired, the'frame units can also be utilized to provide horizontal braces 5i adjacent the' top ed on the beams 56, which are frame units of the same character as previously described, and are arranged with the flanges i4 thereof extending vertically, and the web portions l5 extending transversely. The runway units 51, preferably having transverse tie members 58, are mounted on the beams 56, which beams are in turn mounted onrod-like members 59, which aremounted between the post-like members 43 and 45, as the case may be, and the studs 21 in the same manner as has been previously described for the rodlike members 48, said rod-like members 55 being mounted in suitable ones of the slots 29 to support the runway units 51 at whatever inclination may be desired. The post-like members 43 can be mounted on suitable plates 46 in the same manner as previously described for the post-like members 45.

It will be obviousfrom the description of my invention that the frame units, or structural elements, that-I have provided, may be used to make studs or walers'of any length, and obliquely extending bracing members of any-length, and that these can be secured together quickly and easily, and that a runway and scaffold can be provided that is tied in with the form in such a manner as to be safe and rigid. The use of my invention eliminates much sawing and nailing, and a large part of the lumber used in making concrete forms, eliminating all the wooden framing that. is ordinarily sawed up in such a manner in its use in making forms as, to be eventually reduced to. such size that it is wasted. The wall forming members; platform or scaffolding forming members, and runway forming members, are not in any manner cut or, otherwise damaged in being used in conjunction with my invention, and

' theframe forming members, or units, can be used over and over again and adjusted in any desired manner for making any desired form for any height or length of wall. The form can be gquickly taken apart after the concrete has set,

.[as it is only necessary to unscrew a small number and bottom of the scaffolding connecting the post-like members 45, and said rod-like members can be made of a length such that the same can be extended through certain of the slots 29 of said longitudinal bracing members 5|, so that one of the nuts 49 on each of said rod-like members can be utilized for clamping the frame member 5| in position, or bolts 52 and nuts 53, similar I to the bolts 3| and 32, can be utilized for securing the braces 5I to the post-like member 54, by extending said bolts through the slots 29 in the adjacent flanges I4 of the members 5|. and 45, as shown in the lower part of Fig. 1. Also diagonally extending bracing members, such as the stantially pe pendicularly to each other, each of.

bracing members 54 and 55, may be-provided, and

said bracing members can be so arranged that the bolts 52 can be passed through the slots l8 in the web portions 15 thereof, without interference of the lugs 20 on the outer faces of said web portions I5, with the securement of said web portions flatly against the faces of the post-like members 45, to which the same are connected. Of course, if this is impossible, themembers 54 and 55 can be turned so as to have a flange i4 thereof in engagement with the flanges of the post-like members. Also it will be obvious from Fig. ,1 that these can be placed on either side of the post-like member 45. The runway is mount-- of nuts and to unscrew the wing nuts that hold 'the fasteners in position, in order to take down the form. The fasteners and the frame members, aswell as the lumber used in making the wall, can be used over'and over again.

, What I claim is:

1. A structural member of the character described having a plurality of faces extending sub-v "spaced walls and a connecting portion extending substantially perpendicularly to said substantially parallel walls, said parallel walls extending in the same direction from said connecting portion, said substantially parallel walls having a the slots-therein, extending in the opposite dimotion to said parallel walls.

3. In a structure of the character described, a plurality of longitudinally overlapped duplicate longitudinally flanged members, the body portions of said members lying face to face with the flanges of the adjoining members extending in opposite directions from said body portions, each 3 of said flanges having a longitudinal row of long narrow longitudinally aligned slots therein spaced from each other a fraction of their length; and said body portions having a longitudinal row of long narrow longitudinally aligned slots therein and having long narrow longitudinally extending lugs'much shorter than said slots thereon adjacent opposite ends thereof, said lugs seating in any one of the slots of an adjoining member and extending from the opposite sides of said body portions from said flanges in longitudinal alignment with the slots in said body portions, and securing means extending through certain slots of said body portions to clamp said body portions in face to face engagement with said lugs seated in selected ones'of said slots, at the overlapped portions of said members.

4. In a structure of the character described, a plurality of longitudinally overlapped duplicate channel members, the body portions of said members lying face to face with the flanges of the adjoining members extending in opposite directlons from said body portions, each of said flanges having a longitudinal row of long narrow longitudinally aligned slots therein spaced from each other a fraction of their length, the slots in said flanges lying opposite each other in transverse alignment, and said body portions having a longitudinal row of long narrow longitudinally aligned slots therein and having long narrow longitudinally extending lugs much shorter than said slots thereon adjacent opposite ends thereof, said lugs seating in any one of the slots of an adjoining member and extending from the opposite sides of saidbody portions from said flanges in longitudinal alignment with the slots in said body portions, and securing'means extending through certain slots of said body portions to clamp said body portions in face to face engagement with said Iugsseated in selected ones of said slots at the overlapped portions of said members.

5. A member channel-shaped in cross section having a row of aligned long narrow longitudinally extending spaced slots in theweb portion thereof, and having a row of aligned long narrow longitudinally extending spaced slots in each of the flanges thereof, the slots in one of said flanges being transversely aligned with the slots in the other of said flanges, long narrow lugs extending lengthwise of said member projecting from said web portion in the opposite direction to said flanges adjacent opposite ends thereof in longitudinal alignment with said row of slots, and transverse end walls on said member, connecting said, flanges and web portions, each having an opening therein.

WILLIAM'J. MCDONALD. 

